Lobbyists Make Good Friends

Charlie Black of BKSH & Associates says he contacted Senate Judiciary Committee members last year as a private citizen who wanted to let them know he had questions about the fairness of an investigation into the island's governor, not as one of Puerto Rico's top Washington lobbyists.

The governor, Anibal Acebedo Vila, was indicted earlier this week on several charges including conspiracy, fraud, false-statements and tax charges, The Washington Post reports tied to campaign fund-raisers. When Black called committee members, they were considering the nomination of Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez as U.S. Attorney. She led the investigation. Her nomination was voted out by the committee in August, but the full Senate has not yet approved her appointment.

"I did it because I thought that the Judiciary committee ought to be looking at the record in regards to how the U.S. Attorney's office in Puerto Rico had conducted this investigation completely in public," Black says, adding that he had been disturbed by leaks throughout the investigation, and the possibility of conflicts. Black says he didn't speak to the governor about the calls, and didn't bill any of his clients for the time.